Future-proofing your camera rig!
As I mentioned in my previous post I have once again pretended I have an actual budget to come up with a Multi-Purpose Camera Rig. This time though rather than designing it to be part of something else, I wanted to design it so that it could be used on its own or used as part of a larger Multicam rig or live streaming setup.
Before we dive into the price list I’m going to go through a few of the key elements and explain why I picked them, as at first glance you may be wondering what I’m up to.
The Camera
Those of you who know me know that I Love Blackmagic Design’s Products and the Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K is no different. Not only does the BMPCC 6K have great hardware, giving you amazing footage but it’s also quite cheap compared, to other 6K recording solutions.
I didn’t go for the pro model as the issues that were fixed between the 6K and 6K pro models would be sorted anyway when we included the rest of the needed gear, so might as well save a few quid.
The other reason I picked the 6K variant is that when shooting you have plenty of room to crop into your footage without any distortion.
The Lens
For the lens, I’ve gone with the Canon Tamron 18 – 400mm. This all in one zoom lens is a great choice for video production as in 90% of cases it’ll remove the need to swap lenses halfway through a shoot. It should also work nicely with the BMPCC 6K’s focus and zoom features, quite handy when paired with one of the Blackmagic switchers at live events.
The huge range of zoom will enable some amazing shots and mean you can shoot close up A-Roll of your talent and Wide panoramic B-Roll shots all with the same lens.
ND Filter & Matte Box
Next up is the Polar Pro Base Camp VND Kit. This beauty combines a Variable ND Filter with a Matte Box to keep your setup as light as possible, Handy when your a lugging this setup around.
There is a lot pack into this kit but as well as being slight weight it’s super durable too. Even better it’s completely toolless. I’ll also be adding two additional filters the blue anamorphic and the Heavy Mist filter. When these two filters are paired with the base camp pro you can get some amazing lens flare effects that give your shots a propper sci-fi look.
The Cage
Now we’ve built the camera out forward it’s time to up. Before we do though we need something to attach all our goodies to.
For this, I have picked the Tilta Camera Cage Kit for the BMPCC 6K. the kit comes with pretty much everything we need to attach everything such as a side power handle, Quick Release Top handle, Baseplate, 90-Degree USB-C Cable, Rod and a half sun hood.
I’ll be swapping out the T5 SSD holder for a T7 SSD holder as the T7 has better storage options. I’ll also be adding a V-Mount Battery Base Plate.
Power
To power this rig I’ll be using a Bebob V150. This battery should have enough power to keep everything switched on for more than a few hours, defiantly longer than the battery in the BMPCC 6K
We’re going to need a couple of accessories though to power everything from this one battery. First up is the battery plate this has all of the connection we will need to power everything.
Next, we are going to need some cables for this I’ve gone with a power cable for the BMPCC, 2 x 5.5/2.1MM DC MALE cables.
Monitoring
To monitor the Audio and Video I’ve paid the BMPCC with the a Black Magic Video Assist 12G HDR and a pair of Senheiser HD-280 PRO Headphone.
Whilst we won’t get full use out of the Video Assists 12G Connection if you were to upgrade the BMPCC 6K to a URSA mini at a later date you won’t be needing to buy a new monitor. You may also find other uses for the built-in recorded with sources that can use and abuse that 12G SDI.
The headphones are a personal pick as I’m a little bias towards Sennheiser as I’ve been using them for years. Their sound quality is top-notch.
Lighting
Tucked behind our Video Assist monitor, but facing the other way, will be the Ledgo E116C Bi-Colour LED Light.
It’s cheapish, lightweight and the ability to change the colour temperature is great when shooting in different locations and doesn’t require you to carry around a boatload of colour correction gel.
Camera Support
When it comes to camera support I’ve come up with a few different options. A Support Vest, The Every trusty Tripod, a Dolly on rails and a set of dolly wheel.
The support vest will help take the weight of the rig of your arms and make it easier to move around and keep those shots steady.
I’ve gone for 2 dolly solutions as whilst it’s good to have a track sometimes it’s not quite what you need and it’s always best to be prepared.
No this is not everything for this setup but they are the main pieces. You can check out the rest in the table bellow. All the products should have links to pages on the CVP website.
| Product | Qty | Price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMPCC 6K | 1 | £1786.80 | £1786.80 |
| Canon Tamron 18-400mm f3 Lens | 1 | £599.00 | £599.00 |
| Black Magic Video Assist 7in 12G HDR | 1 | £894.00 | £894.00 |
| Smasung Touch Portable T7 – 2TB | 1 | £329.99 | £329.99 |
| Tilta T7 SSD Holder | 1 | £17.99 | £17.99 |
| Manfrotto MB PL-CC-191N Camera Case | 1 | £112.00 | £112.00 |
| 2x Blackmagic Video Assistant Mini XLR Cables | 1 | £30.00 | £30.00 |
| Female XLR to 3.5mm Jack | 1 | £15.59 | £15.59 |
| Tilta BMPCC 4K/6K Cage | 1 | £446.00 | £446.00 |
| Sennheiser HD-280 Pro Headphones | 1 | £87.00 | £87.00 |
| Rode Video Mic Pro+ | 1 | £289.00 | £289.00 |
| Ledgo E116C Bi-Colour LED Pad Light | 1 | £77.99 | £77.99 |
| X-Rite Colour Checker Video | 1 | £117.00 | £117.00 |
| SIRUI SH-25 Broadcast Tripod | 1 | £232.00 | £232.00 |
| Tilta Tiltaing VM Battery Plat V2 | 1 | £136.99 | £136.99 |
| Tilta Power Cable for BMPCC 4K | 1 | £16.00 | £16.00 |
| Tilta 5.52/2.1mm DC Male (8v) Cable | 2 | £20.99 | £41.98 |
| Bebob V150micro V-mount Battery | 2 | £334.99 | £669.98 |
| Bebob CS2-RL V-Mount Charger | 1 | £263.99 | £263.99 |
| Polar Pro Basecamp MatteBox Kit | 1 | £748.99 | £748.99 |
| Polar Pro Basecamp Bluemorphic Feilter | 1 | £164.99 | £164.99 |
| Polar Pro basecamp Mist Heavy Filter – 2/5 VND | 1 | £199.98 | £199.98 |
| TILTA SIDE FOCUS HANDLE TYPE III (F970) | 1 | £191.99 | £191.99 |
| Tilta Nucleus Nano Lens Control System | 1 | £220.99 | £220.99 |
| Tilta Micro USB to 2.1mm DC Motor Cable | 1 | £19.00 | £19.00 |
| Small Rig 15mm Rod Combo | 1 | £26.99 | £26.99 |
| Easy Rig MM100 MiniMax Support Vest | 1 | £1044.92 | £1044.92 |
| Hauge D5T Dolly System | 1 | £294.00 | £294.00 |
| Manfroto Dolly | 1 | £149.00 | £149.00 |
| 5x Smallrig Double Headed stud | 1 | £7.00 | £7.00 |
| Total | £9231.15 |
There’s probably a cable or two missing but I honestly don’t think that just under £9,500 for a single camera setup that gives you amazing footage is all that bad. Plus if you decided to expand your rig in the future everything will just work together.
What do you think of my choices? Would you use this rig? Let me know in the comments bellow.
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